I didn’t root for Elena Dementieva because she’s perfect. If anything I rooted for her because she’s not—just like the rest of us—but tried anyway.

I rarely root for or against anyone, hoping simply for good tennis. But I have my soft spots, and Elena Dementieva is one of them. (For the record, Venus Williams is another.) This doesn’t mean I agree with everything she's said or done. And I appreciate several qualities of hers in other players, too. I’ve written about those players, or will eventually. This piece though is about Elena Dementieva…and maybe a little about me.

********

I rooted for her because she loves tennis…and showed up to play it.

Not everyone who plays professional tennis likes professional tennis. (Just ask Andre Agassi.) Dementieva seemed to love it. She watches (for fun!) and has in the past mentioned doing something tennis-related after she retires. As a fan who loves tennis, it’s fun to watch a tennis player who shares a similar affection.

Dementieva has achieved at least the 80 percent of success that is, it’s said, just showing up. She played her first tour main draw match 13 years ago. By this year’s French Open she had the longest consecutive Grand Slam appearance streak of any active player—46 straight Slams. Think about that: She was healthy enough—and good enough—to play in Grand Slam main draws for more than 11 straight years.

Her ability to keep playing at that level likely had something to do with her desire to keep improving her level. After losing to Sam Stosur at the French Open last year, she complimented Stosur’s “impressive” play and said that to compete, she herself needed to work on her “physical condition, to get in a better shape.” Because, you know, fitness has always been such a challenge for Dementieva. Yes, sometimes it was too much. Heck, the woman tried to improve during matches—isn’t that what all those air forehands and serves were about?

I rooted for her because, oh yeah, she’s good at tennis.

She plays offense well, aided by some of the fiercest groundstrokes in the business. She plays defense well, aided by some of the best movement around. (Sania Mirza said Dementieva's movement is one of the tennis skills she admires most.) And her return of return of serve (yes, I made that up) can be a thing of beauty. Don’t take my word for it; watch last year’s Wimbledon semifinal against Serena Williams.

Of course, there’s that serve, her greatest weakness. I suspect it’s another reason I rooted for her. She had a glaring problem with a huge part of her game—like so many of us recreational players do—yet she still managed to play with the big girls. Sometimes I wonder if she succeeded not despite her serve, but because of it. Like a blind man whose other senses get sharper as a result of the blindness, perhaps the rest of her game improved to compensate for that downright wacky serve.

She first entered the Top 10 nearly a decade ago and has consistently been in the Top 20 for the past seven years. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 3 last year and her career-high doubles ranking of No. 5 a few years before that. Her resume includes Olympic gold and silver medals, a Fed Cup title for Russia, four Grand Slam finals (two in singles, two in doubles) and 16 tournament titles.

Only five active players have won more titles, and they’ve all won majors. It’s often suggested that she’s the best player never to have won one. Several key stats suggest that’s true, among active players at least.

What those stats also suggest is that she’s one of the game's best players—with or without a major. Having a higher career win percentage than a Grand Slam winner isn’t the same as having a Grand Slam title. But is the stat worth remembering? I think so.

I rooted for her because she’s classy.

She was asked about the lack of a Grand Slam title and that serve...again and again and again. Yet she rarely seemed bothered by it. Until maybe Beijing a few weeks ago. Personally, I wouldn’t have waited that long.

But she managed sometimes to bring humor to the situation, as she did after her loss to Stosur at last year’s French Open. Asked whether the loss was “one of your bigger disappointments here in Paris,” she thought for a second and replied, laughing, “I had so many.”

Marion Bartoli, no stranger to honesty, said Elena Dementieva is her favorite player. Bartoli’s not alone. Dementieva has won both the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award and the Tour Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year. I haven’t interacted with her much in press conferences, but one time when I did, I sat across from a video blogger so taken with her that he turned red and prayed she wouldn’t notice. (No, I didn’t make this up. He told me so himself.)

I rooted for Dementieva because she’s noisy when she loses a point—I’ve never watched a match she played without wishing I spoke Russian—but rather quiet when she wins one. When her opponent hits a good shot she can show her appreciation, as she did yesterday in Doha, when Stosur hit one in the third-set tiebreaker.

I especially rooted for her because, during the handshake, she smiles little when she wins and, like Venus Williams or Maria Sharapova, smiles big when she loses.

********

Soon after hearing about Dementieva’s retirement, I discussed the dire situation with a friend (who happens to be a diehard Serena Williams fan). She humored me as I got louder and louder, faster and faster and then interjected with a question.

“Are we still talking about tennis?”

Now that I think about it, maybe we’re not.

After a while you don’t necessarily watch your favorites play tennis because of the tennis they play. Heck, sometimes you watch despite it. (Dinara Safina fans, you know what I mean.) Chances are, your interest started with some match, forehand or tactic then grew into something bigger, less tangible, more inexplicable. There’s a reason ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic’—the word once meant ‘insane person’.

I certainly felt like one during last year’s Wimbledon semifinal after watching Dementieva hit that backhand crosscourt when a down-the-line shot would have gotten her to the final. It was a tough loss for her, but from what I’ve heard and read, she was gracious in her post-match press conference only a half hour later. I can’t forget the missed opportunity against a champion who doles out so few of them, but I also try to remember the fabulous tennis and her attitude afterwards.

Now, as Elena Dementieva clears out her cubicle or does whatever it is retiring tennis players do, I hope it’s true what she told Amelie Mauresmo when Mauresmo retired, and I hope she remembers those words—that life doesn’t end when tennis ends and she’ll succeed at whatever comes next, because talented people are talented in everything.

Who is going to replace these great player, when the ONLY young player who can consistently play well is Scandinavia's beautiful and talented world's no l. I'm going to savor the matches of all my favorites who are ageing. Kom sa, Caro.

Posted by Huguette gagnon

10/29/2010 at 06:22 PM

This is sad day for Tennis. Can't tell you how much i love Elena Dementieva. In my heart , she win many Grand Slam. A fantastic player and a fantastic person as well. We will miss you Elena :(

Posted by Syd

10/29/2010 at 06:35 PM

Bobby, super article, really nice tribute to Elena, for whom I shed a tear today when I heard of her retirement announcement. She'll be missed.

Posted by Andrew

10/29/2010 at 06:39 PM

Oh, so it wasn't an instant reaction? Well, that changes everything... :-)

You may have had time to go through the five stages (denial, anger, bargaining, hopelessness, acceptance) faster than some others (*waves to ptenisnet*). Elena Dementieva certainly has had a lot of well wishers today.

And in case it isn't completely obvious, my admiration for the writing above doesn't change whether it took 96 hours or 60 minutes...

What enduring impressions do you have from covering her decade-plus career on the tour?

She used to play chess in the players' lounge with her brother. She was never sort of part of "the scene." Objectively, she could have traded on her looks, but she never sold out like that. She never had any interest in playing the sexpot role and it probably cost her a lot of money, but she kept her dignity.

A few days after the Beslan massacre in 2004, where more than 300 hostages were killed at a school in Russia, Dementieva lost the U.S. Open final and gave the most eloquent speech that referenced the tragedy. You lose a Grand Slam final -- that in restrospect you probably should have won -- and you still have the presence of mind to deliver a speech that touches on world events. There was always more going on there than just tennis. I think it's a real loss to the culture of the tour. The star power will survive but she's sort of like the worker in your office who everyone liked, who never got to be CEO but still was one of the pillars of the workplace. Ten years and you never heard a single pejorative word about her.

Dementieva,as I like to call you,I'm trully sad,anybody that recalls correctly in this board had seen me write over and over again how I wish you won a grand slam...I always rooted for you when Serena and Vee were not at stake,sometimes with little faith but I did and you mostly always suprised me,no longer than yesterday with STOSUR.bravo!!!

I'm going to sing for you a very old GERRY RAFFERTY song called "Right down the Line"

"There is still you wooooooooooooooman right down the line..." of course in GERRY RAFFERTY's case it was a love song, but for me, you are still right down the line because I will continue to watch the many great matches you've played against my dearest SEREBABY

Farewell Lena,but I also hope that journalism degree you're chasing lands you somehow somewhere in the tennis world...I'll miss you,you held your own high in the tennis world regardless of slam or not...
And I know if it happens for real, you would be great and fair at it!!!

I've admired you at times LENA
DOS VI DANIA!!!!

Posted by Tennis Tush

10/29/2010 at 09:53 PM

I like Elena as a person. I wish her all the best in her post-tennis life for sure. She's so nice and is usually gracious in defeat (of course no one is 100% of the time lol so I don't hold any certain moments against her).

As for her game, I never understood the buzz about her. I always thought she was so overrated. Her forehand and defense/speed are amazing, but the rest of her game is nothing more than solid. That backhand had a hitch to it and all the players in the top 30 picked on it. We don't need to mention the serve lol and her tactic of being obsessed with playing crosscourt all the time was bizarre as well. Not to mention her numeous failed dropshot attempts. She had a robotic and predictable game, and it's easy to see why almost all of the #1 players and slam winners have winning records against her. I'll miss having her there as a consistent presence in the game, but she really belongs at the lower end of the top players. She had numerous chances to capitalize on the absence of some of the greats of this generation at certain slams, but failed to do so, so I don't understand why so many think she should have won a slam lol.

but again, she's a great person and I hope she has a happy life :D

Posted by Mr. and Mrs. D.

10/29/2010 at 10:22 PM

I was surprised (and saddened) to hear about Elena's retirement. Wish her well.

I'm sure as a Russian player her Gold Medal was just as significant (but not any more so) than a Grand Slam title would've been. Sokol: do you agree with me here?

Ruth @2:44pm...as a fellow (Venus) Williams fan, I know exactly where you were coming from with your 1st paragrah, just wished on the day of her announcement you had stopped after the first sentence. Completely agree with your 2nd paragraph.

"I'm sure as a Russian player her Gold Medal was just as significant (but not any more so) than a Grand Slam title would've been. Sokol: do you agree with me here?"

Absolutely, Mr. and Mrs. D.

Posted by sigmund

10/29/2010 at 10:36 PM

I was never a huge fan of Dementieva and never watched her play much, but I managed to catch her last match against Schiavone and was shocked to hear her announcement. I'm also moved by all the great posts here and realized what a classy lady she was and that she'll be remembered for her character and not just her tennis ability. Elena should take comfort in that. All the players getting all teary-eyed and sobby (espeically when you see someone like Sam Stosur, who is usually quite cool on court, keeps wiping tears away non-stop) just made it more touching and sentimental.

Elena, you will be missed. And perhaps her retirement might spawn more discussion on the idea that winning a Grand Slam isn't the only significant achievement in a tennis career.

Posted by Slice-n-Dice

10/29/2010 at 10:51 PM

I'm still too deep in shock to be able to write intelligently about one of my favorite women in tennis.

I've always had a big ol' soft spot for Elena, and though I count myself among the many who wish she had finally hooked one of the big ones, in the grand scheme of things it could hardly be said she let many chances get away.

Posted by Tim (Moonpies lead to violence!)

10/29/2010 at 11:10 PM

i had a soft sport for elena too, perhaps offset by the disappointment of always having her fall short when i was rooting for her, but clearly, a class act, lvoed and respected by her peers, and it leaves me melancholy that things dont always work out, the storybook ending doesnt always happen, but you find the good and be grateful for what you do have...

touching to see so many players weepy during the ceremony... when Vera speaks i like her more and more i think she's a smart, classy person, if not a headcase on the court (less and less so) ...

time marches on... Im gonna just melt when Roger calls it quits, cant even thinkg about it right now...

Tennis Tush you're not wrong about your assessment of her game - she took both her FH and BH late and her drop shots and volleys could definitely have been better. Never was this more in evidence than in her 2nd round Aussie Open match against Henin, who was more opportunistic and took her FH and BH earlier and hit with more consistent depth despite a single handed BH and being 6 inches shorter.

Still, the sheer # of times she climbed to the top only to miss out on a slam was heartbreaking. You gotta say though, thinking of the Olympic singles champs - Graf, Capriati, Davenport, Venus, Henin, Elena D - pretty select company. Even Federer doesn't have a gold medal in singles.

If she had beaten HEnin in Australia this year she would have had a clear road through to the final, and she was great on HC and had just beaten Serena in Sydney. Too many what ifs... *sigh*

To me her career most parallels that of Andy Roddick, except he won that first GS. Same time frame - Elena made 2 finals in 2004, Andy won his in 2003. Both made numerous semis and finals, slumped around 2007, then revamped their fitness and attack. Most importantly, they both lost critical match points at Wimbledon 2009 to legendary players they were outplaying (Andy's being a virtual match point, his 4 2nd set points, as there was no way Fed was coming from 0-2 down).

It makes me think retirement for Roddick might not be far away.

Posted by Geemom

10/30/2010 at 08:16 AM

I will miss her. She was very classy and was a great representative of the sport.

Posted by Angel of the Surf (Flavia and Gisela Moscow Doubles Champion)

10/30/2010 at 08:24 AM

Hi everyone

Found at this morning that Elena had retired and I have felt sad all day. Reading posts and articles I feel even sadder. Great writing Bobbi. I am sure Elena will have a great life after tennis and so will her mother Vera. I will miss seeing her mother in the stands.

Posted by fedfan

10/30/2010 at 08:48 AM

I've been a fan of Dementieva's for years, kept hoping she would win a major. She's always impressed me as being personable and gracious, as well as a great athlete.

Posted by sisu

10/30/2010 at 09:03 AM

Thanks Bobby! As usual, a well-written piece but then again I expect nothing less from you. From the moment you started contributing articles, I’ve had the pleasure of reading them. ;))

As for Elena, loved her fight! and her willingness to stay in every match knowing her serve would bring her an uphill battle. Loved the improvements she made to her serve and the joy she showed when she won a point and the squeals I’d hear when she missed a particular shot. Lovely smile and court demeanor. I like her words -

“Like I said, I have no regrets because, you know, that was my way. That's the way I played. I was far away from being perfect, but, you know, I had a great fighting spirit. Even without good serve, I was struggling for so many matches, but I was fighting and I was never give up. I was giving 100% on the court no matter who well I was playing. This is what I like. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to try very hard, and I did all the time.”

And best wishes to Vera for her future and may it include less pressure-filled, enjoyable moments!

Posted by temes

10/30/2010 at 10:08 AM

I was really happy Elena's career didn't end in a double fault against Francesca. I mean, it was quite close as her second last serve was a df. lol

Posted by gonna miss elena

10/30/2010 at 10:27 AM

An open letter to Elena Dementieva

Dear Elena, Hi, you don’t know me, I’m just a fan. My name is Bárbara and I’m 20 years old. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but today you retired from professional tennis. (I make stupid jokes when I’m upset, I apologise.)
Yesterday, I was cheering for you to make the semis in Doha and gain some extra points, today, I find out I’ll probably never watch you play again. It’s all a bit sudden, if you know what I mean. I’m not criticising you, I know you have your reasons to announce or not announce your retirement. Either way, before you get all defensive on me, let me tell you a bit about myself.
I come from Brazil. When I was 6, Gustavo Kuerten won Roland Garros and created a huge tennis frenzy in the country. I liked him. I believe, up until this day, he was one of the greatest role models and athletes my nation has ever had. But, at the time, I didn’t care all that much. I only seriously got into tennis at 10 — as seriously as you can possibly feel about something when you’re that age. And, when you’re 10, everything feels serious and eternal. I was watching the Sydney Olympics and I ended up catching the women’s singles final. After two not-all-that-great sets, I was in love. No — get off your high horse — not in love with you, in love with the sport. You can probably say there were better matches between 1997 and 2000 to get me into tennis, but love hits you in weird ways, doesn’t it? The Sydney final made me feel a level of excitement, empathy and, in the end, pure sadness that I didn’t know was capable of being felt through sport. After the match, you, Lena, had gained an Olympic silver medal. Tennis, on the other hand, had gained a die-hard fan.
Ever since that final, every year that passed, I loved tennis more and more. Ten years of my life were marked by you and other players hitting yellow fuzzy balls. As cliché as it may sound, I grew up watching you play. I don’t even have to think hard to recall some of your losses that hurt the most. Big ones, like that morning you lost to Myskina in Paris or that night that you lost to Kuznetsova in New York. And even smaller ones, like all the weekends I woke up at 6 AM to watch you play either semifinals or finals in Moscow and saw you lose. But, to be honest, the victories are just as easy to relive. I don’t even have to put any effort to remember the score against Serena when you finally clinched that Kremlin Cup title (5-7 6-1 6-1). Or reminisce how awesome it was when you, single-handedly, won the Fed Cup for Russia against the French in a full Phillipe Chatrier. And, believe me, Elena, I’m terrible with numbers. I can’t, for my life, recall my friends or family member’s birthdays. Turns out my brain believes tennis scores are more important than when my loved ones were born. (No, I was never clinically diagnosed crazy, why do you ask?) And, Elena, if I’m being completely honest with you, even some of your losses bring me good memories. That 2009 Wimbledon semifinal will forever go in history as one of the greatest women’s matches played on the holy grass. You have to feel nothing but pride about that.
Elena, you were the player that made me understand the meaning of the word ‘fan’. You were my football team, my role model, my superhero. I cared if you won or lost. Eventually, when you grow up, you start thinking ‘What difference does it make in my life if a leggy blonde Russian tennis players wins a match or not?’ But then it’s already too late. You’re already hooked. It’s safe to say I spent quite a few years of life trying to get that hook out of my mouth. As you can see, I failed.
You had a great career. Even if we ignore all the awards, the 16 titles, career high of number three, two Slam finals, Olympic gold medal and consistency – you’d still have had a great career. You created fans everywhere you went. You were always the classiest, in victory and defeat. Forget Roger Federer, you were the perfect definition of what a true champion was. If you’re 1% as good as you were an athlete on what you plan to do, then I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job. Feel free to keep in touch. Maybe we can go out for coffee — or vodka, I don’t know what you Russians drink when you’re unemployed.
All the best of luck in your future,
Bárbarahttp://www.fiercetennis.com/2010/10/29/an-open-letter-to-elena-dementieva/

Great player. I agree with many of the assessments - her movement and footwork were usually excellent, her forehand a weapon. I also found her game plans predictable, or her tactics. Watching Dementieva, you expected and received predictable patterns, and her opponents had to also. This made their lives easier. I watched a few of her matches and wondered why she could not mix it up.

I decided that she was a pretty rigid type, or just basically conservative. Certainly she thought of using more down the line shots or using her speed to come in more often. But her personality meant that she would not 'go out of the box' - and this also explains in some measure her popularity. People like Elena who 'get along with everybody' have, generally, a desire to please others and also a fair degree of empathy and self-criticism, even masochism. I think we saw this in her game. We saw it with the serve.

People forget - or are too young - to recall that the early Dementieva had a decent serve. Then she had some shoulder problems and 'temporarily' went to this exaggerated slice toss and motion. That she could never really get away from that 'yip' was, sadly, a reflection of some kind of lack of confidence or perfectionism. I was a fan of hers for a while, but it became too painful to watch, really - a very talented and bright player with great discipline and love of the game sabotage herself match after match, force herself to dig deeply to overcome that handicap of the serve. True, she probably developed her legs and groundies more - focused better - because of it. Yet, for anyone who has had their serve desert them, you know it's a kind of desperate way to play, and very stressful.

Seems like a fine young woman; best to her.

Posted by yello fuzzy

10/30/2010 at 12:42 PM

howdy folks
wow I am stunned about Demis retirement. Lovely ceremony tho.She really was loved by her peers. I am glad she won the gold medal ,that was the perfect way to define her career. she was, as many have said already, classy and a player that existed and flourished without all the hype , but with more than her share of criticism.She will be missed .....

Posted by Elena fan for ever

10/30/2010 at 12:56 PM

Never posted anything before but have to this time. Why? Just want to let Elena know you are my favorite athlete for ever and wish you all the best!

Posted by vv_varaiya

10/30/2010 at 04:14 PM

Elegant Elena will be missed. Hope the retirement is temporary, and she wins her Grandslam when she returns. There was a simple solution to Elena's service problem: she needs to hit up -- she continually hits it sideways. Hitting up would give her spin, power, depth and control.

Posted by SamK

10/30/2010 at 04:53 PM

Beautifully written for a beautiful player.

I feel like a face and a name that I am so used to seeing will be gone from my life. I hope she looks back proudly at her career. She really truly deserves to. Everyone has ups and downs and slams are not all that make a player.

To me she will ride into the sunset as a pioneer for Russian tennis. She led the way for an unprecedented decade for the Russian women and always showed such grace and pride for her country.

Posted by Liz

10/30/2010 at 05:40 PM

Thank you for the nice tribute to a lovely person, special to so many of us tennis fans

She may not have won "the big one," but she won big time in her career. I remember when the world wondered if she'd ever win a title, let alone a major. I believe it was 2003 before she bagged her first one. To end with 574 match wins, $14,5 mllion in prize money, mulitple wins over all of the best of her generation, great matches in all the big tourneys, two olympic medals, a fed cup win, two GS finals and the universal respect of her peers puts her near the top of her generation. Myskina, Majoli, Korda, Johansson and others would kill for her career. She will be missed in a big way by fans around the world. I was lucky enough to see her play just twice at MSG v. Davenport and at the Open on the GS v. Chakvetadze. A class act! We'll miss you Elena. Please read the Kimiko Date play book and come back in a few years.

Posted by rudy3 (proud Rafaelite since 2005)

10/30/2010 at 10:17 PM

thanks Bobby, a classy look at a classy woman.
I will miss her. She always brightened up a tournament.

Posted by stan

10/30/2010 at 11:50 PM

Dear Bobby, great tribute to Elena, thank you.

Dearest Elena, you will definitely be sorely missed by many. You are a true class act with a capital C. Talented tennis player, great competitiveness and ever so gracious in defeat, so easy on the eyes, as far as how the other pros regard you, must have a good character & personality, wish you all the best after professional tennis. Cheers.

Posted by BeautyAndJustice

10/31/2010 at 01:30 AM

Elena Dementieva, the most beautiful woman tennis player in the world, will be missed by many tennis fans: men or women. Her facial expression is prettier than that of Anna Kournikova or even Anna Ivanovic. Her tennis is surely better than that of the Russian American. It is too bad that she lost two grand slam finals. I hope she might come back one day and win one. I will write a poem for her retirement and hope it will inspire her to come back and win!

Posted by eclipse22 (rafagirl VAMOS RAFA WINNER OF ALL FOUR GRAND SLAMS)

10/31/2010 at 10:13 AM

oh dear, this is a surprise , i was no fan of her but after a while even i culdnt help but feel she richly deserved to win at least one slam, let's hope its a semi-retirement like what's a la mode now!!!

off topic, just saw patrick rafter video imitating fed article, wow wow the guy is still major hot and in boxers no less, still very fit, i had a huge crush on him when he was actively playing,was seriously cheering him when he won us open,used to get a kick outta seeing him wear so much sunscreen, and he had great hair, before fed came on the scene and dethrone him in that area!

say how many days before paris?

Posted by Addiel

11/01/2010 at 02:29 PM

Elena I wish the best in life :D

I am big fan of you and no regrets of being, you are a great example of a tennis player, professional, classy and always trying until the end no matter what.

We all suffer and enjoy big momments with you, that is what life is about, you made us feel a lot of sentations and share with you more than tennis.